Report on fatal Denel explosion will not be made public

THE final report and outcome of the 2018 Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) explosion that killed eight people will not be made public, according to the Department of Employment and Labour.

The department confirmed the report and outcome of its findings would be shared with its chief inspector and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) between June 30 and July 15.

Meanwhile, families of the eight deceased workers are expected to meet soon to discuss the way forward after hearing the report would not be made public.

Department of Labour spokesperson Mapula Tloubatla said all documentation would be handed to the DPP and its chief inspector. “There are no documents that will be made public, everything will handed over to the chief inspector and the DPP.”

The Department of Employment and Labour were appointed to investigate the events of September 2018.

Twenty-six witnesses, which included technical experts, former employers and current staff and investigators, testified.

The testimonies of the final six witnesses will not be revealed publicly. They testified in April.

No testimony of former RDM CEO Norbert Schulze was recorded as they had been unable to locate him.

An outcome on the report will reveal the findings in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Tloubatla previously told the Weekend Argus the department had ordered the establishment of a Section 32 inquiry to investigate possible violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act no 85 of 1993 after the explosion resulted in the lives of eight workers being lost and one worker being injured.

Lawrencia Samuels is the widow of Nico Samuels, who had been the supervisor at the plant.

Samuels, who now cares for the couple’s four children, said she was keen to hear the outcome to find out who or what was responsible.

It emerged during testimonies Samuels had carried explosives inside his private vehicle and he had been in the process of replacing a valve at the plant where the explosion took place.

Lawrencia Samuels, who had not been a witness, had been keen on clearing her husband’s name.

She previously indicated her husband had told her before the explosion he had warned his employers not to replace the valve as there was nothing wrong with the old one.

“We were made aware that the report would be ready by mid-June,” she said.

“We were informed it would only be done in July and that it would not be made public, that we would have to apply and request a report.

“All of us as families are waiting for a time when we can get together and talk about this and what we can expect and what will happen.

“We will take it from there.

“As the families we have discussed our anticipation and the time has been weighing on us and we expected it by June and now we are hearing July. We are anxious and stressed.”